Baby educator



Feb. 28, 1950 c. M. RICHARDSON 2,499,164

BABY EDUCATOR Filed Jan. 16, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 r I] I Illlllllll c. M. E/CHA/PD 50/\/ Feb 28;, 1950 c. M. RICHARDSON 2,499,164

BABY EDUCATOR Filed Jan. 16, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Q"Z7 :35am? [1 32 I 5 6. M. le/c/mwso/v Patented Feb. 28 1950 "UNITED; STATES PATENT OFFICE a BABYEDUCATOR Clarence ltichardson, Cleveland, Ohio Application January 16, 347, Serial No. 722,417

2 Claims. 1 This invention relatesto devices for training and educating infants and more particularly to a device for supporting an infant while teaching it to Walk.

Various wheeled devices and swings have been provided heretofore for the purpose of supporting an infant in such a positionthat his feetmay touch theg'roun'd' or floor so that the infant and deyice may be propelled by the action of the childsfeet, for teaching him to walkand supporting him until he has sufiicient strength to support himself and has learned to walk. Children of the age at which they are about to learn 'toWalkare very curious land-expend agreat amountof energy to satisfy their curiosityyand also in play with toys and other articles to which they may be attracted. To merely place a child in a device particularly built to teach him to walk is not always attractive to the child and he may not, and frequently will not, expend as much energy in trying to walk as he would in the pursuit of some attractive item. It is then an object of this invention to provide a carriage or support for an infant which is so connected to a table that the carriage may be revolved about the table by the efforts of the infants legs as he moves about to reach and play with articles on the table.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for teaching an infant to walk which comprises the combination of a table on which attractive articles may be secured and a swing rotatable about the table for supporting the infant in such a manner that his feet may touch the floor and he may move the swing or supporting device about the table by walking.

A still further'object of this invention is to provide a device of this kind which is so constructed and arranged that the complete device is very stable so that it will not tilt or fall over or be otherwise displaced as a whole, irregardless of the movement of the child.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a baby educator or walking device constructed according to an embodiment of this invention,

Figure 2 is a top plan view,

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary detailed section of the upper end of the pivot member,

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l0 designates generally a baby walker for supporting'an infant while 'heis learning to walk, ina carriage rotatable about a tableupon which various articles may be secured for attracting the infant's attention. The baby walker or educator Ill is r lected vertical positionby a set screw l5 which engages through a collar l6 fixed onthe lower side of the table surface I41 The set screw 15 is adapted to bear against the outer edge of the pivot member l2 for locating the table surface in any desired vertical position suitable to the size of the child. Hook eyes IT, or other suitable attaching devices are secured in the table surface M with the hook or eye on the upper surface thereof so that toys as I B may be fixed to the top of the table by a resilient fastening member or cord l9, to prevent the toys from falling off the table when they are handled by the infant.

The upper end of the pivot member I2 is reduced in diameter to provide a suitable hearing for the infant supporting carriage and arm which are secured rotatably to the pivot member l2. A radially extending arm 20 is rotatably attached to the reduced portion ,2l of the pivot member I2 and extends outwardly from the rod H in a plane substantially parallel to that of the table l4 and spaced upwardly from the table.

The inner end of the arm 20 is provided with a bearing 22 having a central bushing 24 which may be of bronze or other suitable wearing material and the bearing 22 is held against lateral or vertical displacement of the rod I2 by a washer 25 and nut 26 fixed on the uppermost end of the rod l2. An inverted U-shaped frame 21 is provided for supporting a swing or seat, or other suitable device for supporting an infant outwardly from the table M. The U-shaped frame 2'! is formed with a rod or lug 28 fixed to the uppermost end of the bight thereof, which lug 28 is securely fastened to the outer end of the arm 20 by bolts 29 or other suitable fastening devices. In a device as shown in the drawings, the arm 20 is tubular in construction, having the outermost end thereof bent at right angles downwardly so the lug 28 will slide within the tubular arm 20 and the bolts 29 pass through the center of the arm 20 and lug 28. Wheels 30 are rotatably carried by the lower end of the frame 21 at the lowermost end of the side arms 3| of the frame 21 for supporting the frame for rotation about the table. The wheels 30 are journaled in U-shaped brackets 32 fixed to the lowermost end of the arms 3 I. The wheels 30 are disposed in such a manner that the plane of each wheel is perpendicular to a radius of the base ll so that the frame may be rotated about the base I I While the wheels and their supporting bracket 32 are held against rotation or castering.

A swing as 34 is resiliently supported in the frame 21 by a spring 35 fixed to the lower side of the center of the bight of the frame 21. The swing 34 is adapted to be supported at such a height that a child in the swing may touch the floor with his feet and by movement of his feet will move the frame 21 about the base I l and the table M. The base I I is of sufficient diameter and the arm' 20 of a suitable length that the weight of the child in the swing 34 will at no time have a tendency to'tip the assembly over and the child'is supported against falling from the walker 1 do not mean to confine myself to the exact details of construction herein-disclosed but claim all variations falling within the purview of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An infant walker of the kind described comprising a table and an infant supporting carriage rotatable about the periphery of said table by the infant, said table comprising a base, a table surface spaced upwardly from said base, said carriage comprising an inverted U-shaped frame, a seat resiliently supported in said frame depending from the bight portion thereof and spaced from the side arms, and means connecting said frame and said table for movement of said carriage peripherally about said table by the infant.

2. An infant walker for teaching children to walk comprising a table, including a base and an annular table top spaced upwardly from said base, a carriage, said carriage comprising a vertical U-shaped frame, a seat depending from the bight portion of said frame, said seat being so located in said frame that the infants feet may touch the floor, wheels on the lower end of the said arms of said frame, and means connecting said carriage to said table for peripheral movement thereabout by the infant.

CLARENCE M. RICHARDSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France Oct. 9, 1928 

